N.Y. crix moves back to December

L.A. org also sets voting date

The New York Film Critics Circle has pushed its awards voting date back to December, after a single year that saw the group name its winners in late November.

NYFCC will vote and announce its picks on Dec. 3, a week ahead of the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn., which will announce on Dec. 9.

After years of announcing in mid-December, the Gotham critics stirred controversy in 2011 by opting to leapfrog groups that had traditionally handed out their honors first, including the National Board of Review. While the move did allow NYFCC to capitalize on the publicity boost of being the first critics’ org to announce, it also meant that some late-screening year-end releases didn’t make the cut for consideration.

New date, which sees the winners announced prior to a Jan. 7 ceremony, still ensures they’ll pull the trigger ahead of LAFCA but allows the org’s members extra time to see more films.

NYFCC chairman Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York also announced the addition of three film critics to the group’s roster: Bilge Ebiri of New York magazine, Nick Pinkerton of the Village Voice, and Keith Uhlich of Time Out New York.

The Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. also added to its ranks this year, inducting Alynda Wheat of People magazine. LAFCA will hold its awards dinner on Jan. 12 at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, where documaker Frederick Wiseman will receive the group’s annual career achievement award, as previously announced.